Caring Eyes Focus on Domestic Violence Court -- Chicagotribune.Com Chi-Batteredfeb04,0

Caring eyes focus on domestic violence court -- chicagotribune.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca chi-batteredfeb04,0,...

February 5, 2009

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BATTERED: Examining domestic violence

HOME DELIVERY Caring eyes focus on 6 domestic violence court diggs digg it Volunteer watchers aid changes by observing cases

By Barbara Brotman | Tribune reporter February 4, 2009

CHICAGO WEATHER They do their work in silence. They sit, watch, listen and write. When they speak up, their voices carry. TRAFFIC/COMMUTE They are court-watchers, volunteers who observe domestic violence proceedings in hopes BREAKING NEWS that their presence and their conclusions improve the way courts handle these sensitive LOCAL NEWS cases.

NATION/WORLD Used in the Skokie branch of Cook County Circuit Court and DeKalb County, the watchers Popular stories SPORTS have unpaid jobs that look simple: Observe the actions and demeanor of court personnel and take careful notes. MOST VIEWED MOST E-MAILED BUSINESS But their influence is profound. 1. FBI reopens TylenoHOTl TtampOPICSering case POLITICS/ELECTIONS 2. Boy's death ruled a suicide REPORTS & DATA State legislator wants William Ayers fired Volunteers with the DeKalb County 3. DEATHS from UIC Related links Domestic Violence CourtWatch say OPINIONS they have seen a transformation in 4. Alleged Facebook scam nets Wisconsin high A focus on abuse courtroom atmosphere since they school student on sex charges COLUMNISTS began observing in 2003. BATTERED: Examining domestic violence. 5. Obama puts the heat on Republicans BLOGS Why it happens, how to stop it. No longer do judges ask victims what more most viewed ENTERTAINMENT they did to make their partners so angry. Judges are more patient and TRAVEL compassionate. On the rare LIVING occasions when they are not, DeKalb County Presiding Judge Kurt Klein LIGHTER SIDE responds swiftly, sometimes sending

VIDEO/PHOTOS a judge to a training seminar on domestic violence. SHOPPING "People act differently when they CARS know they're being watched," said JOBS Barbara Samulowitz, the DeKalb group's president. "It's just human REAL ESTATE nature."

APARTMENTS The court-watchers are evidence that MORE CLASSIFIEDS although domestic violence may seem intractable, progress is TV LISTINGS possible and average citizens can MOVIE TIMES make a difference.

NEWSLETTER/ALERTS The Chicago Metropolitan Battered NEWS TOOLS Women's Network is so impressed that it is looking into starting a court CONTACT US watch in Cook County's domestic violence court in Chicago. But the ABOUT US task may be difficult.

The National Council of Jewish Women, which runs the successful 56-volunteer court-watch program at the Skokie branch, has twice tried but failed to expand to the main domestic violence court in Chicago. The group had trouble getting enough volunteers in Chicago. Most of its branch court-watchers live in the north suburbs.

And the Chicago court was not particularly welcoming, said Gloria Lippert of Flossmoor, a council court-watcher in Chicago for three years. "It must have taken six months till they allowed us in after we were trained. And some of the judges would not allow us to write,"

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she said.

But Dawn Dalton, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women's Network, said she thinks her group carries enough weight in the court system that it could overcome such obstacles.

Cook County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Evans said he would welcome the return of a court-watch program.

"They are extremely valuable—an independent, objective source of information," he said. "I think their presence [would help] us move in the direction we need to move to make sure the system is one that produces fair results."

Watchers don't always just observe. The DeKalb group offers suggestions for improvements and, in particularly complicated cases, interviews victims and meets with court personnel to discuss the cases.

The group was able to change the way orders of protection were written in the county. Judges had been writing in a clause requiring a 72-hour no-contact period in only 25 percent of the orders, CourtWatch found. After the group recommended that the no-contact clause be standard, it was put into all of them.

"They have convinced me, and I think they have convinced the other judges . . . that, if anything else, we need a cooling-off period," said Klein, who meets regularly with CourtWatch.

The Chicago-area programs are among as many as three dozen court watches that operate nationwide, said Dawn Dougherty, national project director for the Hennepin County (Minn.) WATCH, which three years ago created a National Association of Court Monitoring Programs to help other groups start court watches.

In 15 years, Dougherty said, the Hennepin County group has achieved small-scale successes, such as catching a clerical error that would have mistakenly released an accused batterer on bail, and broader ones: Its notes on cases where victims were choked—but charges were dismissed—led to Minnesota's enactment of a 2005 law making domestic-violence choking a felony.

In DeKalb, the court watch is tracking 25 particularly violent cases to see how long it takes them to make it through the system and what causes delays. Chicago Tribune store For judges, court watches can be a valuable source of feedback. "I find their critiques very helpful," Klein said. "We are supposed to treat everybody fairly, but over time you may • Purchase Chicago Tribune become insensitive because you hear case after case after case." Commemorative Newspapers

Disability Aides The court-watchers also hold a symbolic value—they show victims society cares about Golfview Develop. them. In DeKalb, victims feel so comforted by a watcher's presence they sometimes ask for Center them. Property Inspector Chicago Tribune on Digg "Their presence made me a little more assured that there would be some validity behind provest llc Upcoming Popular what the judge was saying and that his ruling would be fair," said a woman who asked that Stationary & Chief her name be withheld to avoid antagonizing the judge hearing her case. Green cars for '10 and beyond Engineers 119 Local Brewery The 20 or so DeKalb watchers are, for the most part, retirees. One watcher, Norma Wiley, Ah, The Classic Kiss - PHOTOS Engineers is a retired computer specialist—a skill that has come in handy: She uses the court's 119 Engineering firm computer system to track how long it takes cases to be resolved. Is Miley Cyrus photo pose racist? CAD Operator 68 Dynamic Engineering Some volunteers initially were shocked at the cases they observed. View all Top Jobs Volunteers see their hours in the courtroom rewarded when their observations become the Search Chicago jobs basis for change.

GO "We're not trying to displace judges or tell them what to do," Samulowitz said. "All we want Chicago crime search them to do is treat victims fairly in court." All Chicago jobs Address Advanced search Post resume [email protected] Homicide map Post a job Meet top cops Search radius Photos: Mug shots 1/4 Mile GO E-mail Share Print Reprint

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